ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is a technology that allows to create a three-dimensional object from the digital file (CAD model), in a very short time.
We’re dealing with a style of production opposed to traditional subtractive manufacturing, where the material is cut out or hollowed out using equipment such as a milling machine. 3D printing does not need a mold or material block to create physical objects.
There is a variety of additive technologies, NCM implemented Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), a 3D process in which sequential layers of metallic powder are deposited on the printer and fused together by a laser beam until the part is complete.
DMLS can use many types of metal in its process, including tool steels, stainless steels, aluminum, titanium, nickel alloys, cobalt chrome, and precious metals.
Advantages
- Rapid design, prototyping and production;
- High design flexibility that allows to lighten the parts while maintaining a strong structure, a fundamental parameter for the Aerospace and Automotive Industries.
- Minimising waste in terms of material and energy
- It allows to consolidate groups of parts into a single object, optimizing the production process and the product structure.
Application fields
- Metal powder additive manufacturing has many applications, such as:
- Aerospace and Energy, due to its significant positive impact on fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions;
- Automotive, for the possibility of immediately testing new components;
- Medicine, for the possibility of computer modeling a prosthesis or a piece of organ perfectly tailored to the patient;
- Art and Architecture, for the high geometric freedom.
Curiosity
DMLS makes previously unattainable geometries practical in production runs. Depending on the geometry, most parts can be produced in 3-5 days.